Nagging dialog box when converting from rich text to plain

Am I the only one annoyed with this ‘feature’? I believe at least a handful of us are power users. We know already what rich text format and plain text format are. Secondly, no one can be that idiotic that they have to be reminded every single friggin’ time that plain text doesn’t support formatting.

Please give users an option to turn this off.

Addendum: While I’m at it, I also wish there was an alternate delete shortcut key that’ll suppress the delete warning popups (such as command-option-shift-delete in Finder to empty trash without nags).

Thank you for listening!

Mixed feelings about that.

I guess I’m a power user, too. But sometimes I’m thinking so hard that I get careless. More than once, a warning has saved me from doing soimething stupid. :slight_smile:

That happens to me too once in a while, which is why I choose to auto-backup every hour and lock important files. I’m all for having the popup warnings on as a default preference. But there should be an option to turn that off.

I’m with pb on this. It makes sense to put up confirmation dialogs by default, but it also makes sense to give users the option of confirmation-free delete and conversion. Insisting on protecting you from yourself smacks of Microsoft, and endlessly having to click confirmation dialogs detracts from the joys of using well-written software like DT.

Please could we have a rethink here?

This is actually identical to the way TextEdit works. But you could now also use the Data > Convert > … commands. They create a copy and therefore don’t ask the user.

Maybe, but that doesn’t mean DT can’t do it better.

No help for delete though.

I don’t mean to be churlish. I think DT is a wonderful bit of software, and you Christian are a wonderfully responsive developer. You are clearly convinced that it is right to put up warnings, and I would never say it was wrong. All that pb and I are asking for is the option to work without them.

Well, the convert command leaves:

  1. An old copy which when deleted prompts a dialog box.
  2. Append " text" to the title of the new plain text document.

It only makes a supposedly simple task more complicated, imho.

Guys:

I recently got a Support message from a very experienced user, noting that the nagging reminder saved him from accidentally deleting a group of hundreds of files that had just been added to the database.

And still another from a very experienced user who, when nagged, realized that a full day’s writing, not yet backed up, was about to be deleted.

I’ll confess that I’ve been saved from stupidity several times by that irritating little nag.

I know. Choice is great. But so are seat belts and motorcycle helmets.

It would take development resources to change the Apple code behavior used by DT Pro, followed by debugging. My preference would be for a better use of resources than just removing a safety net.

From my “belts and suspenders” perspective my recommendation to Christian would be to leave that nag in place until such time as DT Pro has its own retrievable Trash, or other method of saving the user from a common careless mistake. Remember, it’s hard to be right all the time. :slight_smile:

here’s a script that will convert all files in the current selection between the two text formats. It is as bill says a bit like driving with no helmet, but should make things automatic, and do twenty at once if that’s what you need. If speed is what is at stake, I suggest naming it with rtf<–>txt___ctrl_c (or whatever you wish for the last letter) and then a simple control-c (or other letter) will convert between formats if you have the script saved in your dtpro script folder. Dtpro’s scripting facility is the solution to preference bloat, imho. I would of course welcome an undo facility in dtpro, but I suspect that will eventually come.

In the meantime, use the script at your own risk, of course!

cheers,

eric


----  rtf<---> txt  by Eric Oberle 1.0
---This program converts the current selected rtf files to txt or the current txt files to rtf 
---with NO WARNING.  Please be careful to not harm your data...it will delete all formatting when converting to plain text

tell application "DEVONthink Pro"
	set this_selection to the selection
	set the_window to front viewer window
	if (count of this_selection) < 1 then error "Please select something."
	set this_name to ""
	set this_result to "" as Unicode text
	try
		set cur_group to current_group
	on error
		set cur_group to root of current database
	end try
	
	
	repeat with this_item in this_selection
		
		set the_kind to kind of this_item as string
		set the_name to name of this_item
		set the_comment to comment of this_item
		set the_url to URL of this_item
		
		if the_kind is "RTF" or the_kind is "RTFD" or the_kind is "rich" then
			set the_text to plain text of this_item
			set x to create record with {name:(the_name), plain text:the_text, type:txt, comment:(the_comment), URL:(the_url)} in cur_group
			set the selection of the_window to {x}
			delete record this_item
		else if the_kind is "txt" or the_kind is "Text" then
			set the_text to plain text of this_item
			set x to create record with {name:(the_name), rich text:the_text, type:rtf, comment:(the_comment), URL:(the_url)} in cur_group
			set the selection of the_window to {x}
			delete record this_item
		end if
		
	end repeat
end tell



Thanks for the script erico.

And you have put your finger on it here: the ideal would certainly be an option not to display warnings combined with an undo for file operations and conversions. This would provide an invisible safety net for those who prefer a more streamlined way of working. No doubt the premium on programming resources will preclude a quick fix, but could we agree that this would be something to aim for?

Thanks for the script too, erico. I’ve been using iKey macros to auto-yes the nagging boxes but your batch-convert script makes it even more time-saving.

And in case no one isn’t aware, you can revert your document when you accidentally convert it to a plain text from menubar > Data > Revert to Saved.

Good for them. I’ve heard many problems from people who were too sick and tired of dialog boxes that they quickly clicked “okay” when one poped up without reading it.

Undo’s easily in my top five most desired features. I think Christian’s even promised it to us once or twice over the years. :slight_smile: